This invention relates to a clock system for managing golf courses. It relates particularly to a clock for monitoring the play of a golfer during a round of golf at a golf course.
In many areas, golf has increased in popularity to such an extent that many golf courses are becoming crowded, especially on weekends. When such crowded conditions exist, it is important that the golfers play at reasonable speeds to allow others to also enjoy the golf course. Slow play by some golfers has become a significant problem at many courses with the result that a few slow golfers can delay the play of a large number of subsequent players.
Slow play by a few golfers can greatly reduce the number of golfers able to use a golf course in a day, thereby resulting in a significant loss of revenue to the operator of the golf course. In addition, many golfers will hesitate to play at a golf course where slow play is known to be a problem.
Golf course operators have attempted to eliminate slow play by a number of different approaches. A golf course employee will sometimes be stationed at various positions along the golf course to observe the players, and when slow play is detected to attempt to have the players speed up their play. This approach is not only expensive, but also requires considerable tact on the part of the employee to accelerate the play. Attempts to educate the players regarding the problems of slow play have not been successful, since most golfers do not consider themselves guilty of slow play.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,390, issued Feb. 4, 1992 to Matthews, discloses a system for monitoring the speed of play of golfers by using a series of location information transmitters spaced at predetermined locations along the golf course and a mobile electronic transmitter and receiver carried in association with each golfer in a golf bag or golf cart. The system described in the Matthews patent uses a series of signals transmitted from the location information transmitters and the mobile transmitters to a home base receiver to monitor the speed of play of each golfer or golfing group. Such a system is not only very expensive to install and operate, but requires a golf course employee to constantly monitor the signals received and inform errant players about their slow play. Such a system is also subject to very high maintenance costs and vandalism or theft of the transmitters as well as requiring a license to operate from the Federal Communications Commission.